Wigan teacher Tyler Spence, who came close to winning series three of BBC's Gladiators, is taking part in the Gladiators Live Tour 2026 but will miss the Manchester dates because his wife is expecting their child the following week.
Speaking about his time on the show, Tyler admitted he was initially critical of not winning. He said: "I think from my point of view, I'm quite harsh on myself, so I was quite critical that I didn't win at first."
He added: "But obviously the more you speak to people and the more you reflect on the experiences, the more you realise how fortunate you were, one, to have been given the opportunity, but then two, to have come so close to winning. I think the more I sit back and reflect, the more I realise how much of an achievement it was."
Tour arrives in Manchester this weekend
The tour reaches Manchester's AO Arena on Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15, giving fans the chance to experience the action away from the television screen.
However, Tyler revealed he will not appear at the local shows. He said: "Unfortunately, I won't be able to do Manchester. Obviously, I'm gutted that I can't do it, but my wife's pregnant, so she's due the following week. That would have been really nice to do, but priorities take over, don't they?"
His wife has already watched him in Glasgow and attended the London shows.
A different approach to live performances
While the pressure of competing on television was intense, Tyler is approaching the live shows with a different mindset. He explained: "I've tried to approach it slightly differently. There's not as much competitiveness amongst the contestants like there was on the show. It's a different feeling. It's about enjoying it, performing, putting on a show. I've tried to just take everything in this time."
Away from the arena, Tyler works as a supply teacher, and his Gladiators fame has followed him into the classroom. He said: "I'm actually a supply teacher as well, so over the last couple of months I've been lucky enough to go into different schools. It doesn't take very long for the students and staff alike to suddenly realise, and then it's kind of like a bombardment of questions!"
Inspiring the next generation
Fitness has always been important to Tyler, and he hopes the tour encourages others to get active. He added: "One, I hope they have a good time. And hopefully, both adults and children get into fitness. It's a big part of my life and it shares who I am. So if they can take just a little bit of passion that I have for it, then they'll be on the right track."
Gladiator Dynamite (Emily Steel), who is also representing Greater Manchester, shares that message. She said: "From a young age, I always wanted to use sport to inspire the new generation and get people active, get people healthy, find love and passion for sport. Gladiators has given me the option to do that. I think I'll be wearing Lycra to do it, but it's just been so nice to see all the families come together. I'll now have kids come up to me and say that I inspire them to start a new sport or try something new, which is just so rewarding."
One of her favourite parts of the live show is getting children in the audience involved. She said: "I have a special bit where I speak to all the little kids in the crowd because of my little fan base. I call them my tiny minds because obviously I'm Dynamite and they're much smaller! We do this thing where they scream so loud, and it honestly just makes the arena. You can feel it in all the different arenas, which is my favourite thing to do ever."
Asked about differences between crowds, she said: "There's definitely a difference. You get a bit more rowdy when you're up north. Manchester was my favourite one last year though. It seemed like the loudest one. I think just being on home turf as well was just great, so I am excited to be back in Manchester."
Dynamite says the tour lets audiences see more of the Gladiators' personalities than on television. She said: "I think the show is so fast-paced on TV, you don't actually really get to know us that well, whereas with the tour, we've got more time to interact with the crowd and have our own individual special moments. I'm hoping people can take what they see live into watching the show and just almost form a nice picture and enjoy it more."
For Tyler, despite missing Manchester, the opportunity to be part of Gladiators remains something he would not hesitate to do again. Asked whether he would return if another tour was announced next year, he said: "I'd pay them to do it!"
The tour continues at Newcastle Utilita Arena, Liverpool M&S Bank Arena and Birmingham BP Pulse Live after Manchester, with tickets available from the Gladiators Live website.
